So your fan blade is broken/cracked/out of balance, etc. And your technician comes out and says the blade for your unit is obsolete, with no replacement so you will have to replace your entire system. This is a very common scenario. Not saying that all techs are shady and are trying to take advantage, but it does happen. Sometimes they legitimately just can't find it, but you really never know. So keep your guard up, and if this happens to you, know that there is a replacement out there for you. Follow along and I'll guide you through the process.
When replacing a fan blade, the first and best method for finding the right one for your unit is going to be by using your equipment model number or a part number if you can find it. This is the easiest way to reference what would be the direct replacement. Now, let's say your model number is faded or the blade does not have a part number labeled on it. You are still not sunk. At this point it becomes a matching game. There are 5 key bits of information required to find a replacement.
Those bits are:
1. Diameter across the entire blade
2. Number of blades
3. Direction of blade - Clockwise or Counter Clockwise (Read on to learn how to determine this)
4. Pitch of the blades (Read on to learn how to determine this)
5. Hub or Bore size
Once you can provide this information, finding a replacement is a snap. And they are not difficult to install. Just one simple set screw. So when removing the old blade you would just have to unscrew that and slide it off of the motor shaft. Now, sometimes the blades from years of being beaten by the elements will get frozen to the shaft. It will take some elbow grease, but you can remove it by carefully tapping it at the hub toward the face of the motor, and once below the area it was frozen to, you can use some sandpaper and sand the shaft til it becomes smooth again. After that, apply some lubricant to the shaft like WD-40 and the blade will slide off like butter.
Determining direction of blades:
This is pretty simple. Using a tactic known as the "Sandbox Method", you would hold the blade out in front of you flat, holding it by the hub, and drop it into a sandbox laying flat. If you were to hold the hub and spin it, which direction would it be going to where it would dig into the sand? Yes, it's that easy. And no, you don't have to go to the park to do this, as long as you can visualize the same thing.
Determining pitch:
The pitch is the degree to which the blades are angled. This is a bit trickier than the sandbox method. The best way would be to use a pitch guage, but if that is not available you can try using a protractor. Or, if you have a local refrigeration supply nearby, they might be able to gauge it for you.
So as you see, if someone tells you your part is obsolete , whether that be a fan blade or anything else, there is a very good chance there is a replacement out there somewhere. As long as you have the right information, your luck stands to be pretty good.
To see our Fan Blades, click here Fan Blades
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Replacing a capacitor: When to replace and what are the indicators that it is bad?
Capacitors are often the reason for the downfall of your heating or air conditioning equipment. They are also one of the least expensive parts to have to replace, so it's always a good idea to check it out. Here, I will describe a capacitor and where to locate it in your unit, determine if it is bad using no diagnostic equipment, as well as how to locate the correct replacement for your unit.
***CAUTION*** Capacitors are charged with electricity. When attempting to remove a capacitor, always make sure to kill the power to the equipment you are working on and discharge the contacts on the capacitor (herein referred to as legs) by using a screwdriver with a non conductive handle (like plastic or wood) and laying the metal portion across the contacts (legs). This will spark but what you have now done is discharged the capacitor and made it safe to touch and remove. When removing a single run capacitor, take note of which wires were connected and label them. When removing a dual capacitor after completing the steps above, make sure to take note of what labeled terminal each wire is going to and label them accordingly to ensure proper installation of the replacement. Failure to follow these steps could result in injury or death.
Step 1: Locating the capacitor
A capacitor will always be tethered to the wires of your motor, whether that be a condenser motor (outside unit), or your blower motor (inside unit if a furnace or air handler, outside if a package unit). The wire color to follow in most all cases will be the brown wire. If you trace that wire it should lead you to something that either looks like a can of soup (round) with 2 or 3 legs coming off of the top, or an oval can with the same type of configuration, 2 or 3 legs. The difference here is that a capacitor with 2 legs is what is known as a "RUN" capacitor and it's only purpose is to help that motor run and nothing else. The capacitor with 3 legs on top is what is known as a "DUAL" capacitor which operates 2 parts, a condenser motor and a compressor, hence the "DUAL". FYI... A compressor will only be located on an outdoor unit, so you will never find a DUAL capacitor on an inside furnace or air handler.
Step 2: Diagnosis
When inspecting the capacitor, there are a few easy tell tale signs to let you know if it is bad or not. If it is leaking, is puffed out so that it does not have a perfectly flat bottom or is giving off a bad smell, the capacitor is bad. Another way is when trying to start the outdoor unit, only one of the 2 items connected (the compressor or condenser motor) runs, that is another good indicator that the capacitor is bad. When dealing with the indoor furnace or blower unit and attempting to start that, if the wheel is not spinning, you can take a stick and try to spin it manually. If it kicks on when doing this, the capacitor is bad. This method can also be used on the outdoor unit if the compressor is running but the fan blade is not spinning. Simply by taking a stick and trying to spin the blade through the fan guard, if the fan thn kicks on your capacitor is bad.
Step 3: Determining which capacitor you have
After you have located and discharged the capacitor (as instructed above), you can in most cases find the value of the capacitor by simply reading the side of it. There are 3 key bits to locating the correct replacement. What you will be looking for are the MFD (microfarrad) of UF (same thing) ratings first. If a single run capacitor, it would look something like 5uf or 5mfd for example (The number can be higher or lower depending on what it is being used with). If on a dual capacitor, the numbers may look something like 40/5uf or 40/5mfd. What you now have is the microfarrad value. Next to look for is the voltage or VAC rating. Usually this only comes in 2 values, either a 370vac or a 440vac. (Note: If your unit uses a 370vac typically but you can onlyfind a 440vac, a 440vac will work in the place of the 370vac. This is not something that can be reversed. So you CANNOT replace a 440vac with a 370vac. This will cause damage to your unit and possibly start a fire.) The 3rd key bit which is not functionally important to the running of the system, but may be an issue with mounting and room restrictions is the shape, either oval or round. The shape effects the functionality in no way.
Step 4: Installing your new capacitor
After you have obtained your new capacitor, installation is a breeze. As always, remember to kill all power to the equipment it is going back into.
For a single run capacitor: These only have 2 legs, and hence will only use 2 wires. The polarity cannot be reversed on this type so once you have relocated (and hopefully labeled as capacitor wires at the time of removing the faulty capacitor) the capacitor wires, simply take one of them and plug it on to one of the legs of the new capacitor. Then take the other wire and plug it on to the other leg. It does not matter which one each wire goes to, as long as each wire has it's own leg. Now you're done!
For a dual capacitor: These are a bit more tricky than a single run capacitor because they use more wires. The dual capacitor will have 3 legs and each one having an embossed reference or initial next to it indicating what that leg is for. The "F" or "FAN" leg is for the brown wire from the fan motor. The "H" or "HERM" leg is for the compressor. And the "C" or "COM" terminal is for the common wires. Plug them in the same way as the one they were attached to before and that's it, you're done!
To see our Capacitors, click here Capacitors
***CAUTION*** Capacitors are charged with electricity. When attempting to remove a capacitor, always make sure to kill the power to the equipment you are working on and discharge the contacts on the capacitor (herein referred to as legs) by using a screwdriver with a non conductive handle (like plastic or wood) and laying the metal portion across the contacts (legs). This will spark but what you have now done is discharged the capacitor and made it safe to touch and remove. When removing a single run capacitor, take note of which wires were connected and label them. When removing a dual capacitor after completing the steps above, make sure to take note of what labeled terminal each wire is going to and label them accordingly to ensure proper installation of the replacement. Failure to follow these steps could result in injury or death.
Step 1: Locating the capacitor
A capacitor will always be tethered to the wires of your motor, whether that be a condenser motor (outside unit), or your blower motor (inside unit if a furnace or air handler, outside if a package unit). The wire color to follow in most all cases will be the brown wire. If you trace that wire it should lead you to something that either looks like a can of soup (round) with 2 or 3 legs coming off of the top, or an oval can with the same type of configuration, 2 or 3 legs. The difference here is that a capacitor with 2 legs is what is known as a "RUN" capacitor and it's only purpose is to help that motor run and nothing else. The capacitor with 3 legs on top is what is known as a "DUAL" capacitor which operates 2 parts, a condenser motor and a compressor, hence the "DUAL". FYI... A compressor will only be located on an outdoor unit, so you will never find a DUAL capacitor on an inside furnace or air handler.
Step 2: Diagnosis
When inspecting the capacitor, there are a few easy tell tale signs to let you know if it is bad or not. If it is leaking, is puffed out so that it does not have a perfectly flat bottom or is giving off a bad smell, the capacitor is bad. Another way is when trying to start the outdoor unit, only one of the 2 items connected (the compressor or condenser motor) runs, that is another good indicator that the capacitor is bad. When dealing with the indoor furnace or blower unit and attempting to start that, if the wheel is not spinning, you can take a stick and try to spin it manually. If it kicks on when doing this, the capacitor is bad. This method can also be used on the outdoor unit if the compressor is running but the fan blade is not spinning. Simply by taking a stick and trying to spin the blade through the fan guard, if the fan thn kicks on your capacitor is bad.
Step 3: Determining which capacitor you have
After you have located and discharged the capacitor (as instructed above), you can in most cases find the value of the capacitor by simply reading the side of it. There are 3 key bits to locating the correct replacement. What you will be looking for are the MFD (microfarrad) of UF (same thing) ratings first. If a single run capacitor, it would look something like 5uf or 5mfd for example (The number can be higher or lower depending on what it is being used with). If on a dual capacitor, the numbers may look something like 40/5uf or 40/5mfd. What you now have is the microfarrad value. Next to look for is the voltage or VAC rating. Usually this only comes in 2 values, either a 370vac or a 440vac. (Note: If your unit uses a 370vac typically but you can onlyfind a 440vac, a 440vac will work in the place of the 370vac. This is not something that can be reversed. So you CANNOT replace a 440vac with a 370vac. This will cause damage to your unit and possibly start a fire.) The 3rd key bit which is not functionally important to the running of the system, but may be an issue with mounting and room restrictions is the shape, either oval or round. The shape effects the functionality in no way.
Step 4: Installing your new capacitor
After you have obtained your new capacitor, installation is a breeze. As always, remember to kill all power to the equipment it is going back into.
For a single run capacitor: These only have 2 legs, and hence will only use 2 wires. The polarity cannot be reversed on this type so once you have relocated (and hopefully labeled as capacitor wires at the time of removing the faulty capacitor) the capacitor wires, simply take one of them and plug it on to one of the legs of the new capacitor. Then take the other wire and plug it on to the other leg. It does not matter which one each wire goes to, as long as each wire has it's own leg. Now you're done!
For a dual capacitor: These are a bit more tricky than a single run capacitor because they use more wires. The dual capacitor will have 3 legs and each one having an embossed reference or initial next to it indicating what that leg is for. The "F" or "FAN" leg is for the brown wire from the fan motor. The "H" or "HERM" leg is for the compressor. And the "C" or "COM" terminal is for the common wires. Plug them in the same way as the one they were attached to before and that's it, you're done!
To see our Capacitors, click here Capacitors
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
What information is needed in looking for replacement parts for my heating or air conditioning equipment?
This is a good and very common question. There are a couple of ways to find the information that is needed, depending on what kind of unit you have that the parts are needed for. Below I have listed all the most common scenarios.
Part Numbers: This is an excellent way of finding that specific part you are looking for. Most all parts have a label on them listing the manufacturer's part number, as well as the OEM part number made for the equipment manufacturer. So as to better explain, the companies that make the actual equipment that the parts go into do not actually make their own parts. They are outsourced by various manufacturers such as Honeywell, Robertshaw, Johnson Controls and so on. So these companies put their part number on the item, as well as label the part for the company making the equipment it's going into such as Carrier, Trane or Lennox. If you can locate these numbers, in most cases it will result in finding the exact part swiftly and with ease.
Gas Furnaces: Gas furnaces will always have the equipment model number located inside the unit along with the serial number. This will be on a label located near the burner assembly. Where the serial number is good to have, it will not identify the parts in your unit. So if there is no part number available, the only other way to locate the parts needed is with that equipment manufacturer's model number.
Heat Pumps, Package Units & Condensing Units: These types of equipment will always have the equipment model number and serial number located on a label or a plate usually to the back of the unit on the outside. A problem that usually comes of this location of this vital information is that due to the elements, the numbers quite often fade away with age and weather. So it is a very good idea to record this information and keep it in a safe place that you can easily access when in need of repair parts.
Electric Air Handlers: This type of unit is the indoor blower unit which in most cases houses an electric heat strip for heating or emergency back up heat. The model and serial numbers for this type of equipment will be located on the outside of the unit, usually on the door.
Evaporator Coils: For evaporator coils, the placement of the model and serial numbers is all dependent on the type of casing around it. If the coil came cased, then the numbers will be located on the front side of the coil on the outside of the casing. If the case was made by the contractor who did the installation, then you would need to look inside of the casing to try to find the model number on the coil itself.
Ready to look for your repair parts? Click here Parts Locator
Part Numbers: This is an excellent way of finding that specific part you are looking for. Most all parts have a label on them listing the manufacturer's part number, as well as the OEM part number made for the equipment manufacturer. So as to better explain, the companies that make the actual equipment that the parts go into do not actually make their own parts. They are outsourced by various manufacturers such as Honeywell, Robertshaw, Johnson Controls and so on. So these companies put their part number on the item, as well as label the part for the company making the equipment it's going into such as Carrier, Trane or Lennox. If you can locate these numbers, in most cases it will result in finding the exact part swiftly and with ease.
Gas Furnaces: Gas furnaces will always have the equipment model number located inside the unit along with the serial number. This will be on a label located near the burner assembly. Where the serial number is good to have, it will not identify the parts in your unit. So if there is no part number available, the only other way to locate the parts needed is with that equipment manufacturer's model number.
Heat Pumps, Package Units & Condensing Units: These types of equipment will always have the equipment model number and serial number located on a label or a plate usually to the back of the unit on the outside. A problem that usually comes of this location of this vital information is that due to the elements, the numbers quite often fade away with age and weather. So it is a very good idea to record this information and keep it in a safe place that you can easily access when in need of repair parts.
Electric Air Handlers: This type of unit is the indoor blower unit which in most cases houses an electric heat strip for heating or emergency back up heat. The model and serial numbers for this type of equipment will be located on the outside of the unit, usually on the door.
Evaporator Coils: For evaporator coils, the placement of the model and serial numbers is all dependent on the type of casing around it. If the coil came cased, then the numbers will be located on the front side of the coil on the outside of the casing. If the case was made by the contractor who did the installation, then you would need to look inside of the casing to try to find the model number on the coil itself.
Ready to look for your repair parts? Click here Parts Locator
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